UPPER CHICHESTER — With the exception of a few guests, everyone who attended the seventh annual National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims vigil Wednesday night knows the pain of losing a loved one to violence.

Margaret Harper lost her son, Steven Sullivan Harper, on May 17, 2002. His fatal shooting in Chester remains unsolved.

Harper, a former Chester resident who now lives in Delaware, had been to previous vigils at the Living Memorial Gardens, sponsored by the Delaware County Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.

“It gave me a purpose, a place to think of him in a good way,” she said.

But after being away for a few years, she decided it was time to return.

“I just wanted to come and be in fellowship with everyone else,” she said.

For Annamaria Drais, Friday will mark eight years since she found her husband’s body in his Glenn Road home in Aston. He’d been beaten and thrown though a sliding glass door before he died of a single gunshot wound to the head. His case, too, remains unsolved.

“I come here every year to remember him as a man, as a dad, as a grandfather, that his life mattered,” she said.

In an opening prayer, the Rev. John J. Large, POMC chaplain, offered thanks “for this place” to gather in memory of loved ones.

“May the love that motivated men and women to change this barren field into a beautiful garden leave this park and go out to all the places in the world where people’s hearts have to be emptied of their hatred and rage,” Fr. Large said. “As each of us stand in our place, may this be a sign of standing up for our loved ones so that every murderer will know they will have no place to hide.”

Jane McPhee, chapter leader of POMC, welcomed the about 75 guests. While some sat on chairs and benches near their loved one’s garden, most stood in front of the lighted gazebo that served as a stage and was adorned with photographs of loved ones lost but never forgotten.

Noting that he and investigators were coming off a difficult weekend in Chester, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said, “Unfortunately, we’re adding another name to the list.”

Whelan was referring to 40-year-old Jason Scott McClay, a manager at a Rite Pharmacy who was gunned down in a shopping aisle Sept. 19.

“I know the pain of Jason’s parents,” Whelan said. “Nobody can take away that pain.”

Whelan cited video surveillance inside the pharmacy and forensic evidence — a palm print — for the swift arrest of two Philadelphia residents in the McClay murder. To those still awaiting justice for their loved one, Whelan pledged continued commitment for every unsolved murder case, regardless of time.

“We never ever close a homicide … they are never cold in our minds,” he said, adding that investigators always look for new evidence and reminding there is no statute of limitations on murder.

“My commitment to you tonight is if you believe police have been unresponsive, come to the district attorney’s office and meet with me,” he said. “I will use every resource in the district attorney’s office to try and help you and your families.”